New Hampshire Tobacco Purchase Age Increase Tabled

A bill in New Hampshire to raise the minimum purchase age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21-years-old has been tabled, and effectively killed for this legislative session.

S.B. 545 was introduced by Sen. David Waters, D-Dover, and Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, and despite gaining some bipartisan support as well as a growing movement in the region to pass such increases, the bill received no debate when it went to the Senate floor on Thursday, and with a voice vote it was decided t to table it from further proceedings.

While it’s not an absolute defeat, it effectively means the bill will not be heard again this session.

New Hampshire is the third state this week to defeat a tobacco purchase age increase proposal, joining South Dakota and Idaho.

Legislation remains active in Washington, Illinois, Utah, West Virginia, Alabama and Florida to become the sixth state to pass such an increase; Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Maine and Oregon are the only states where the minimum age to purchase tobacco has been raised to 21-years-old, while in Utah it sits at 19.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.